A Level content (Paper 3 and Paper 4)
At A Level, candidates are required to build upon the knowledge and understanding established at AS Level, and to concentrate their study on four specialised subject areas:
• language change
• child language acquisition
• English in the world
• language and the self
Similarly, the skills and techniques required at A Level expand upon those required at AS Level: Paper 3 primarily focuses on skills and techniques related to analytical reading, while the emphasis in Paper 4 is on discursive writing.
The examples listed in the content below are suggested rather than prescribed ways in which candidates can demonstrate knowledge and understanding. These examples are not exhaustive.
Paper 3 Language Analysis
Learners should familiarise themselves with a comprehensive set of tools, strategies and conventions for studying language. This should include the following: developing frameworks for analysing and comparing unseen texts; assimilating a range of appropriate technical terminology; assessing, evaluating and synthesising sources of evidence; carrying out independent research into language concepts; contextualising their views in relation to theories; and understanding language data presented in the form of transcripts, tables and graphs.
Section A: Language change
In Section A, learners will explore how English has continually adapted to reflect changes in the social, cultural, political and technological contexts in which it has been used. Learners will explore the causes and consequences of language change in English, developing their knowledge of the topic through research, analysis, and an understanding of conventional methods of presenting historical language data.
Knowledge and understanding
Candidates should be prepared to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
• the chronology and essential features of the development of the English language from Early Modern English to Contemporary English
Examples:
graphology, orthography, phonology, morphology, syntax, lexis, semantics, pragmatics, grammar
• concepts and terminology related to language change
Examples:
etymology, derivation, inflection, telescoping, coalescence, acronym, conversion, compounding, backformation, blending, borrowing, amelioration, pejoration, broadening, narrowing
• theories and theorists of language change
Examples:
random fluctuation theory, cultural transmission theory, theory of lexical gaps, substratum theory, functional theory, tree and wave models
• n-gram graphs representing changes in language use over time
Examples:
comparisons of related words, parts of speech, inflections, collocations
• word tables derived from corpus data
Examples:
collocate lists, synonym lists
Skills and techniques
Candidates should be prepared to demonstrate the following skills and techniques:
• researching in the field of language change
• analysing unseen texts as exemplars of certain aspects of language change
• interpreting and analysing n-gram graphs and corpus data relating to language change
• contextualising findings alongside relevant theories and concepts relating to language change
• synthesising their responses to a range of language data into a coherent analytical essay.
Section B: Child language acquisition
In Section B, learners will explore the stages of early development (0–8 years) in child language acquisition, considering the various features and functions of spoken language use during this period, and familiarising themselves with a range of relevant theories, theorists and conventions within the field
Knowledge and understanding
Candidates should be prepared to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
• the main stages of early development in child language acquisition
Examples:
babbling, holophrastic, telegraphic and post telegraphic stages
• the different functions of children’s language
Examples:
instrumental, regulatory, interactional, personal, representational, heuristic, imaginative
• theories and theorists of child language acquisition
Examples:
imitation and reinforcement theory, language acquisition device, language acquisition support system, cognitive development theory, child-directed or caretaker speech
• the conventions and features of unscripted conversation and spoken language transcripts
Examples:
notation for pauses, overlaps, stress, intonation and phonemic features
Skills and techniques
Candidates should be prepared to demonstrate the following skills and techniques:
• researching in the field of child language acquisition
• analysing spoken language transcripts as exemplars of certain aspects of child language acquisition
• interpreting and analysing instances of conversation involving children aged 0 to 8 years
• contextualising findings alongside relevant theories and concepts relating to child language acquisition
• synthesising these theoretical considerations into a coherent analytical essay.
Paper 4 Language Topics
Throughout the syllabus, learners are encouraged to move beyond the practical application of English language, and to engage in a deeper consideration of a number of theoretical issues related to its use. Learners should develop their ability to engage in discussion on how the diverse forms of English that exist across the world interact both with one another and with other languages, and, how language use contributes to the construction and development of the self.
For Paper 4, learners will study two key topics in the field of English language studies: ‘English in the world’ in Section A and ‘Language and the self’ in Section B.
Section A: English in the world
In Section A, learners will explore the history of English as a ‘global’ language; the development of standard and nonstandard forms of English, including the varieties used by first-language users outside the UK; and ethical considerations related to the continuing expansion of English usage around the world.
Knowledge and understanding
Candidates should be prepared to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of theories, theorists and studies relating to:
• the historical development of English as a ‘global’ language
Examples:
colonialism, cultural influence and effects, concentric circles model, multilingualism, the future of English
• varieties of English
Examples:
standard and nonstandard ‘Englishes’, creolisation, sociolect continuum, official and unofficial attitudes and policies
• relevant ethical considerations
Examples:
language shift and death, cultural imperialism, equality of opportunity, global cooperation
Skills and techniques
Candidates should be prepared to demonstrate the following skills and techniques:
• reading and demonstrating critical understanding of unseen texts relating to ‘English in the world’
• selecting and analysing pertinent ideas and examples from the texts
• relating these ideas and examples to theories, theorists and studies from their wider research in the relevant topic area
• synthesising these considerations into a coherent analytical essay
Section B: Language and the self
In Section B, learners will explore how language allows us to communicate our sense of self to others, as well as playing a highly significant role in the ongoing construction, determination and development of that self.
Learners will study the degree to which language is innate, learned, or both; the ways in which language and thought are both interwoven with, and separable from, each other; and how we use language, both consciously and unconsciously, to construct and maintain social identities.
Knowledge and understanding
Candidates should be prepared to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of theories, theorists and studies relating to:
• innateness and learning
Examples:
behaviourism, innatism, nativism, empiricism
• the relationship between language and thought
Examples:
linguistic relativity and determinism, universalism, language of thought hypothesis
• the relationship between language and social identity
Examples:
speech communities, prestige, idiolect, dialect, sociolect, genderlect, variation, standard and nonstandard features, inclusion and exclusion, speech sounds and accents
Skills and techniques
Candidates should be prepared to demonstrate the following skills and techniques:
• reading and demonstrating critical understanding of unseen texts relating to ‘Language and the self’
• selecting and analysing pertinent ideas and examples from the texts
• relating these ideas and examples to theories, theorists and studies from their wider research in the relevant topic area
• synthesising these considerations into a coherent analytical essay.
- for A2 Level Students
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